College football rankings: AP Top 25 Poll, Week 9: LSU comes rolling in after Ole Miss win
By John Buhler
Here is what the latest college football rankings look like with the release of the AP Top 25 Poll.
With a pair of top-10 teams falling in Week 8, the latest AP Top 25 poll gives us a new set of college football rankings to fully dissect.
A top-10 team was going down anyway in Autzen with No. 10 Oregon hosting No. 9 UCLA. The Ducks flew together and had no issue with yet another soft Bruins team. As for the other top-10 team going down, No. 7 Ole Miss could not hang with previously unranked LSU in Death Valley. Like the Bruins, the Rebels took a stumble in the AP Top 25. Like Oregon, LSU gained more votes.
Let’s check out what the latest AP Top 25 Poll looks like heading into the Week 9 slate of games.
College football rankings: AP Top 25 Poll, Week 9: Get ready for LSU-Alabama!
Here is what the Associated Press decided were the top 25 teams in college football this week.
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Clemson Tigers
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Oregon Ducks
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- USC Trojans
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons*
- UCLA Bruins
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Utah Utes
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Syracuse Orange
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- LSU Tigers
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Tulane Green Wave
- North Carolina State Wolfpack
- South Carolina Gamecocks
* = Wake Forest is tied with USC at No. 10.
The top five is unchanged with Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan and Clemson.
Rounding out the top 10 are Alabama, TCU, Oregon and Oklahoma State, with USC and Wake Forest tied at No. 10.
No. 12 to No. 15 are UCLA, Penn State, Utah and Ole Miss. Syracuse, Illinois, LSU, Kentucky and Cincinnati are No. 16 to No. 20. UNC, K-State, Tulane, NC State and South Carolina finish it up.
The big takeaway in all this is all five Power Five conferences still have multiple teams who can make the four-team field. It leaves a lot of debate within each conference as to who is best. While Clemson seems to be the class of the ACC, the Tigers nearly lost at home to what looks to be a very good Syracuse team. Outside of that, the four other leagues have so much left to play for.
Overall, college football is in a good spot heading into the last week in October. This is when it gets really good. The rivalry games intensify, as the haves will begin to separate for good from the have-nots. Even in defeat, teams like Ole Miss and UCLA still have a chance to win their conferences and be part of meaningful playoff debates in late November. As for Kansas State, thanks for trying…
Despite a relatively weak slate, the product over-delivered, which is always the case in this sport.
Next. Heisman Trophy Power Rankings through Week 8. dark
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